The Tricity received its first pre-monsoon showers on Thursday,bringing respite from the heat and reducing the day temperature. Chandigarh received 90.2 mm rainfall,which is the highest one-day rainfall in June in the past four years. The conditions have become conducive for the early onset of monsoons. Last year,1.2 mm was highest rainfall received in June. The monsoons were also delayed. In 2011,the highest rainfall received was 60 mm,in 2010,it was 75.8 mm and in 2009,it was 26.8 mm.

The rains brought down the day temperature by more than 6 degrees. It was recorded as 29.5 degree Celsius,10 degrees below normal. On Wednesday,the maximum temperature was 36.9 degree Celsius and minimum temperature was 27.7 degree Celsius,three degree above normal.

Met department Director Surender Paul said,Heavy downpour can be expected in the next few days. The pre-monsoon showers were experienced throughout the region. The monsoons are advancing fast and are likely to hit the region early.

MC office work disrupted

With the municipal corporation building being renovated,water seeped in causing disruption in power supply on two floors. The municipal commissioner and mayor could not hold meetings in their offices. A proposal to shift the offices of the MC to the old district court building in Sector 17 had been considered. However,it was felt that the expenses would be high,as renovation of the offices would be required.

Mayor Subhash Chawla said that in case of further problems,his residence as well as that of the municipal commissioner would have camp offices,so that work is not affected.

Sector-7 shopkeepers rued that due to lack of maintenance,the roofs of their shops were leaking,damaging their goods. Construction work at several places,including work of carpeting roads,came to a halt.

civic agency deploys teams

Municipal Corporation teams were deployed to ensure that no waterlogging took place. A pumping machine was mounted on a truck and taken around the city to remove water from wherever complaints were received. The situation had witnessed an improvement since the thunderstorm,last week,when the roads were waterlogged.

Inspections were conducted by the municipal commissioner and mayor,along with the chief engineer,superintending engineer and other MC officials. The Mayor stated that complaints were received from some sectors. At places where roads were carpeted recently,some construction waste had entered the road gullies causing problems. Teams conducted checks throughout the day, he said.

Trains Delayed

The rainfall affected the arrival and departure of trains at the Chandigarh Railway Station. With heavy downpour throughout the region,movement of most of the trains remained affected,causing inconvenience to the passengers. The morning Shatabdi from Delhi arrived around 40 minutes late. The departure of the Himalayan Queen was also affected. Around half-a-dozen trains were running behind schedule.